It is common practice, by now, in transporting difficult material, especially at high temperatures, use of a kind of metallic belt conveyor comprising a metallic net traction element supporting a plurality of partially overlapping steel plates, such as to form an almost sealed load bearing channel. Each plate is subsequently individually fixed by a plurality of bolts, screws or rivets inserted in corresponding bored plaques, each of these plaques being in turn inserted inside the meshes of the traction net conveyor belt. The conveyor belt thus comprised is operated by a traction drum, it is tensioned by a transmission drum, ensuring the necessary tension, and is supported by a plurality of independent transversal rollers, supporting the conveyor belt on its load bearing section, and by wheels supporting the belt in its return section. Examples of conveyor belts of this kind are disclosed in U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,633,737 and 3,749,228, where material holding means overlap each other to form a continuous channel in which the material can be held and carried. However, the transport surface is not planar, having steps corresponding to the overlapping zone of the material holding means.
In conveyor belts according to prior art, the overlapping of plates generates a non planar surface, caused by partial imbricated overlapping of the plates in the direction of motion. Such embodiment constitutes a limit to the increase in thickness of the plates and therefore to the sturdiness of the assembly, due to the growing difficulty with the thickness of the plates, to slide on the return wheels. The presence of small ste
causes a waste of power due to the energy absorbed to raise the conveyor belt at every passage of the small steps on the return wheels. This energy waste, besides, produces vibrations or noise.
The non planar surface of the conveyor belt on the load bearing section causes, in practice, hindrance to positioning deviators on the conveyor belt to laterally discharge transported materials, which would get stuck between the small steps formed by the overlapping of the plates and the deviator.
For similar reasons, it is impossible to create more channels on the same conveyor belt for the possible choice and separation of the transported material.